Welcome, welcome. Come on in and have a seat on the couch right there. Just relax. We’re going to have a little conversation about your job anxieties. As a matter of fact, just lie back on the couch and let’s focus together on letting all your misgivings about your current or even future job evaporate into the air.
I think we need to decide together just which of the 8 types job you’re employed in. Once we do that, we can focus on helping you work through your concerns. What? You didn’t know there were only 8 job types? Well, here they are:
1. The Security Job
Are you just hanging out to collect a paycheck? If so, you may be in a “security job.” All it does is provide you with the means to take care of yourself and your family. You’re not experiencing any job satisfaction at all. You probably don’t like it and I’m sure your employer doesn’t either. Here’s a hint: your employer probably knows, and she’s already looking for your replacement.
2. The Scouting Job
If you’re just hanging on, trying to figure out what you really want to do, or what you want to do next, you’re in a “scouting job.” You may be waiting to finish your degree or until something “better” comes along. You’re just checking things out but you’re still motivated enough to work on building up some key accomplishments to highlight in your next interview.
3. The Social Job
Sometimes we work at places simply because we have friends there. The camaraderie and fun that our friends bring to the workplace make staying there relatively easy. You probably love coming to work and I’m sure your boss probably loves seeing you all enjoying each other’s company and collaboration, but your focus is probably too much on your social relations. Is your professional growth truly on track? Maybe, maybe not.
4. The Speculator Job
If you’re in this job, you’re probably working like crazy in hopes of a future payoff, a huge payoff. How high is your confidence that this payoff will actually happen? When most people in a “speculative job” lose their hope and realize they won’t get paid what they’re worth, they scavenge the company’s resources – contacts, training manuals, copier toner, bandwidth – to achieve some sort of return on their investment. They basically compromise their own integrity out of frustration and that ethical lapse eats away at their conscience.
5. The Selfish Job
Is your job only about you? If it is, you’re probably just hoping to learn, grow, and collect evidence of your own personal ability to add value for no other reason than because it makes you feel better. Using your employer’s resources only to build up yourself will leave you feeling like a moocher and add some stress to your life.
6. The Singular Job
If your job provides a singular, unusual, or unique opportunity to meet a personal need or want, you’re employed in a “singular job.” You may have a strict schedule your current job accommodates or you may need to work in a certain location, with a certain high profile individual, or to learn a particular skill. As long as this job provides that singular purpose – and you NEED it – this job will probably work out well for you.
7. The Stuck Job
The “stuck job” needs little explanation. You’re stuck – either because of a family situation, an economic situation, a debt situation, or an insurance situation. You do just enough to keep your job. It’s time to dust off that resume and take a part-time job — finding a new line of work.
8. The Sensational Job
Are you working in a job that fuels your personal passion? Now we’re talking! There are TONS of positives when your job aligns with your personal values, deep interests, and highest priorities. You’re happy to be there and it shows. If this is your job, consider yourself fortunate. Very, VERY few people are employed in their sensational job, their dream job. As long as the “work” aspect doesn’t become too annoying, frustrating, or overbearing, you will have a great time.
So, which one of these job types are you in?
Photo by ms.flux
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{ 6 comments }
Hey Ron,
Great article, I’m tweeting it!
I think the worst is being in a stuck *and* security job at the same time (which I guess is sort of what the stuck job is). For me personally, I tend to look for jobs which allow me the chance to get better at what I do and improve. As long as I have that, I can often overlook any other downsides =)
I’d have to agree with Sid Savara up there about the worst being stuck and security.Those two can almost go hand in hand it seems…I think my favorite has got to be the scouting job because that’s when you’re in a phase where everything is a new discovery and an adventure. It’s really where you find out more about yourself–some things surprising, others not surprising at all.
Love this, Ron!
This is why we made the decision for my husband to become a SAHD and me to continue to be a WAHM…he worked a security job without fulfillment and I’ve been trying to find enough time to work my sensational job, which I love. I wasn’t willing to stop homeschooling or send my kids to a babysitter in order to be able to work, and it seemed silly for my husband to continue giving up valuable family time for a job that he didn’t even really love. Voila! A new plan was born!
All that sounds terrible man…Out of the 8 types there is only one that a person can truely be happy with. Thats quite sad when you think about it that only 1/8 workers are truely happy.
Not really. You’ve got to be careful with statistics … just because there are 300 different dog breeds doesn’t mean that Labrador Retrievers make up 1/300th of all dogs. (Many people are satisfied with their job, maybe that’s the ninth “S.”)
Some people transition between job types on the same job, too. They key is to find something you enjoy, people you enjoy doing it with, and that challenges you and allows you to grow and provide for you and your family. Finding that type of job is actually a pretty tall order, but people do it every day.
I love this article. I really can relate “stuck jobs”. Fortunately, I have set out my courage to get out and be release by that job. Among the list, I picked social and passion categories. I love working with my enthusiasm. I also want to work and at the same time win some cool friends out there.
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